7 Card Stud High-Low ($100/$200), Ante $20, Bring-In $35 (converter)

3rd Street - (1.40 SB)

Hero: A A 5___raises___raises
Seat 3: xx xx 7___folds
Seat 4: xx xx 2___brings-in___folds
Seat 5: xx xx J___folds
Seat 6: xx xx 3___folds
Seat 7: xx xx A___raises___raises___calls
Seat 8: xx xx K___calls___calls___calls

4th Street - (13.75 SB)

Hero: A A 5 6___bets
Seat 7: xx xx A J___checks___calls
Seat 8: xx xx K Q___checks___calls

5th Street - (8.38 BB)

Hero: A A 5 6 9___raises
Seat 7: xx xx A J 2___bets___calls
Seat 8: xx xx K Q 5___calls___calls

6th Street - (14.38 BB)

Hero: A A 5 6 9 T___
Seat 7: xx xx A J 2 6___bets
Seat 8: xx xx K Q 5 9___calls



Have yet to reach a clear decision as to whether to raise here. Both opponents are poor players and are not tricky.

Seat 8 is playing like a guy with a pair of kings. If it were a heads up stud hi pot with him a bet would certainly be in order.

Seat 7 has a made low well over 90% of the time. He can beat you for hi if he is drawing for the wheel (6 high straight and the low actually here) -- his wheel cards are farily live (2 fives are dead as is a three, but no fours) but he sure didnt play 5th like he had a wheel draw. I suppose he also has a very remote out in the Case A, but probably not worth wasting alot of time worrying about that.

Even though you are playing for half the pot and are a bit vulnerable to a redraw, a raise is almost for sure going to result in a reraise from Seat 7, and that MAY be enough to make seat 8 go away so your high is a bit more protected.

I would probably base my decision on my best guess at whether 8 would fold. If he is the type of player that doesnt fold, I dont think you have enough equity to really make a raise worth it. If he is he type that can fold here to a double bet, I raise hoping to knock out the other high hand.

Excellent analysis, I just called in the hand as I felt like 8 wasn't ever folding, then I wasn't sure afterwards. You're right that the correct play depends on if he'll call 2 more with a pair of kings or not.

When the guy with the Ace in the door three-balls third, it does look like he may have Aces with you. With the King in there, I'm fine with the cap. Bet fourth, of course. I don't know about the raise on fifth. There's no reason that the bettor can't have Aces, in which case you're behind with a deadish hand.

On sixth, I can't see doing anything but calling. The bettor could have Aces or Aces-up, and your hand is even more dead than it was on fifth. Or he could have a low, leaving you to play for half. I'd also be a little concerned about the caller. He has taken a certain amount of heat thus far, which leads me to believe that he's either made Kings-up or is really clueless/stubborn. Now with Kings, he should never have been in there to begin with, but you know how these guys are.

About the only card I'd really want to see on the river is the A. It frequently won't be available.

The slowdown on 4th and the timidity with which he played 5th makes me doubt the split Aces scenario a bit more than you probably do Andy, but your point is well taken. If he had gone for the cap there I would be very very concerned that I was looking at (A2)A, but instead he pushed and completely put the breaks on when Hero pushed back. Looks like a low draw to me. His decision to bet out on 6th doesnt help at all to clear up matters unfortunately, because he is doing that with a made low or if he improved split Aces.

Still, I probably dismissed the possibility he started with split Aces too cavalierly. That said, I would be reluctant to abandon a completely unreadable hi hand once we get to 6th, and it would still be a major coup to get Seat 6 to bail here if it were possible.

Agreed, but people who call with Kings when an Ace is jamming on third are unlikely to bail for one more bet on sixth once they've invested several bets.

I'd be tempted to raise - you're showing 56 - 9 , 78 could well be your hole cards here - it's a good spot to bluff in anyway. Even if you still go three ways it's only a small mistake , but fantastic if you get it HU because of the size of the pot.

I think the fact that he check/calls 4th and hero is holding 2 of the other 3 aces makes it so unlikely he has AA he'd have to do something very special to convince me he has it now. I'd say there is a huge chance that on 6th the low is gone and the K is not folding for any number of bets given the action so far, and a good deal of the time has you beat for high already. I think raising is suicide and you want to show this down as cheaply as possible, but then I'm not the one playing 100/200

I would probably check and call with Aces on fourth street facing a guy who capped third street and is now showing 56s. It's far more likely that he has split Aces than a big pocket pair, assuming he'd play both the same.

Exactly, the guy who can get past 3rd with split Ks here is never folding.

I think this is a clear call.

A guy with a made low halves the pot size, and prevents you from having an equity overlay - CALL

A guy with bare Aces has you beat, and may not 3-bet. So you are behind and unlikely to generate the leverage to force out the King. - CALL

A guy with K's up won't fold for 1 or 2 additional bets. - CALL

A guy with bare King's isn't worth Value betting because most of that +EV will go to either a made low or a better high hand, or the possible/likely better high hand + low draw. - CALL

I'm curious to hear about your motives for the raise on 5th. Are you hoping to build fold equity if you catch a low cards ot a spade? Do you think you have an equity edge? Do you just want to play a bigger pot?

Play with twodimes a bit and you'll see the lowest equity I have on 5th is 40% (assuming neither has two pair, I also ignored the specific dead cards as I'm lazy), and also that in many combinations I have higher equity than seat 7 when he has the case ace. eg.

As 6s 5s 9d Ah 0.423
Ac 4c 2c Ad Jh 0.415
Ks 5c Qd Kh Th 0.164

And there's the possible coup on 5th as well of knocking the kings out and being transferred most of the equity eg.

As 6s 5s 9d Ah 0.435
4c 3c 2c Ad Jh 0.394
Ks 5c Qd Kh Th 0.171

going to

As 6s 5s 9d Ah 0.580
4c 3c 2c Ad Jh 0.420

I've run a few more 5th street scenarios. It's hard to find a spot where you are ever a even a moderate dog on 5th. Most of the time your equity falls between .33 and .42

Why is there someone playing $100/$200 who 1) is playing a pair of Kings in this game (I'm a tightish player who rarely plays those kinds of hands), 2) can't fold Kings early when a couple of Aces go crazy, and 3) insists on calling down to the river with just a pair of Kings?! I wish I was playing in that game against that player!

Nah, he just runs bad.

I thought he must have something like a 3 flush with the Q... WOW if he really had KK.

I don't know what is meant by this, but that made me laugh out loud. In short: LOL

Could be an expert hold'em player who doesn't quite get this game yet. I've played with a few, although not $100/200. Could be someone who made a tournament score. Or it could be a rich stupid person. Who cares? These people are out there.

QFMFT!!!!

-ChipsAhoya

Uh yeah, iif you somehow knew that nobody had two pair then you should raise. I think it's a clear call on 6th. Also, I think Matusow plays good 8b from my limited experience with him.